


Battlefield Bludhaven Senior High

by atinyratsy



Category: Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Blüdhaven, Female Lead, Non-Romance, Other, Plot, Raven-centric, a rewrite of a comic that sucked
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-04 23:54:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4157742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atinyratsy/pseuds/atinyratsy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the destruction of Bludhaven, there became a school named after the city and dedicated to the battle. Located south of Gotham, of course a flurry of students who had moved out to the newly constructed (and seemingly safer) Jump City would end up attending. </p><p>About 4 years later, a young girl would start to attend. With the constant threat of her father at home, her mother's shift in judgements and her seemingly loose grip on her powers, Raven finds school to be a welcome distraction. If only she didn't have to hide her demonic powers. </p><p>When a tickling in her magic links her to some odd friends, Raven is forced to reconcile with the concept of good and evil, the grayness in between and prejudiced magic users.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally had this up on my Wattpad account, so if it's easier formatted for you to read it there I will put the link to that.  
> http://www.wattpad.com/myworks/27026027-battlefield-bludhaven-senior-high

                                                                              _ **Bludhaven Commonwealth History**_

The Bludhaven Commonwealth was established in 1912 as a whaling town. Socioeconomically poor, the city had tried in vain to transform itself into a manufacturing and shipping center. Corruption always befell the town, but unlike it's elder sister city Gotham, the corruption fell within the law.

In the years following, the citizens were exploited by police brutality, corrupt businesses and law makers in the wake of industrialization. There were no superheroes, no vigilantes present to take it all down. Any heroes who had come from neighboring areas sided with the police regardless. Not coming from the citizens background, these heroes couldn't possibly know that the higher powers weren't there to help.

**In short, heroes failed Bludhaven, heroes were enemies of the town.**

In the year 1977, a resistance turned for the worst when the police force was deployed. The city's apartment complexes and project housings were empty as every poor resident piled into the streets to protest in absolute defiance. When it first started, they carried signs and shouted through megaphones. They boycotted the officials and went on strike when they went back home. It was civil and the marches were few and far between. About a thirty days went by with nothing more than civil disobedience from protestors. However, one march in particular stood out. Having enough of the lack of care for the low-income housing to where it's unhealthy to live there, having enough of the corruption in their work environments which pushed addictive substances on their families, having enough of being ignored and denied help from the government; they picked up and left to the streets to march.

The police showed up to stop the march, blocking them at edge of where the housing part of the city met the corporation headquarters. Armed and ready, they stood. There was a teenager at the front, urging everyone to go forward even as scared as they were. Before they could go any further, one of the officers grabbed the kid by the shirt collar and threw him face down to the street. When some began to lash out and come forward, that's when they called for backup. The resulting scene, with police teargassing enraged citizens, it looked like police trying to detain a mob.

An officer explained the situation to Batman who instructed Superman, The Flash and Green Lantern to isolate the city. He, Martian Manhunter, Zatanna and Wonder Woman stayed behind. Martian Manhunter didn't understand the destruction that was before them, so he assigned himself to helping up the scared citizens before Batman snapped at him.

When a woman screamed, holding her burning eyes from the tear gas, Batman simply stood over her. An older man came rushing over, trying to get Batman to help his wife. He grabbed at his cloak, pleading for him to help her, but with a quick shove Batman knocked him down on his knees. An officer came to handcuff him while Batman rushed over to a person sneaking away to hide, violently questioning him. Wonder Woman was distraught and uncomfortable about this, but Zatanna comforted her, assuring her that they wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't necessary.

Wrangling citizens was less stressful until Green Lantern lost grip of the buildings he was using to isolate the city. Creating a shake, the unsteady housing complexes started to wobble on the vibrating ground and despite Flash catching most of the debris, many were very or even fatally injured. The heroes looked around for the police, someone to help carry off the citizens to hospitals or at least move them out of the city.

Suddenly, rumbling was heard and everyone looked around, tanks drove up to the street and blasts were fired. The heroes outside were shouting for a cease-fire but the tanks pressed on. Batman came outside to find the tanks. Pleased with this, told everyone that the situation was under control now. Enraged, Flash, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter all lashed out at him. They shouted, they argued loudly about the rights of the people and the brutality of the police until words turned physically violent.

Wonder Woman did her absolute best to get the citizens into hiding as she struggled against Batman. Flash tried to stop the decrepit buildings from collapsing on the citizens as they were captured by the police and Batman. Martian Manhunter telekinetically shoved Batman out of the way and hid residents from the fire. Zatanna rushed in to help Batman, using her magic against her friends. Green Lantern and Superman watched hesitantly as they tried to isolate the city from any more attacks.

When Green Lantern was shot by an officer, the ring's creations withered and Green Lantern fell to the ground. Military officials swarmed the area, tear gas bombs were thrown at cars and in shops, officials were trying to beat down the heroes with missiles, guns and footmen but all they ended up doing was destroying the city even further. Superman tried to explain but he was quickly silenced by Batman.

"We're here to help. There was a riot and the officers here came to detain the violent protesters. We were called in for reinforcements. Some of my subordinates don't understand the nature of criminals, so I had to defend myself." Batman growled it as he walked toward the commander. He strode with importance, it was easy for him to talk but no one else was given the chance to explain or detract from this statement.

Badly injured, a few heroes were taken into custody for recuperation.

However, Bludhaven was decimated and almost all of the protesters were slaughtered.

There was hardly a mention of it on the news and nearly all mention that was on, framed the victims as criminals who thankfully were brought to justice. It was forgotten by some, let go by others and eventually everyone (even the JLA) moved on. Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter would grow more distrustful of Batman and Zatanna but kept that among themselves.

Ten years later the city was paved over and turned into Jump City. The site of the battle was commemorated with a plaque, paid for by the "Thomas and Martha Wayne Foundation" and dedicated to Batman's help in the  _Battle of Bludhaven._

It would be another six years after that before Battlefield Bludhaven Senior High School was erected in the spot where the battle had taken place in the newly named and constructed Jump City. A lot of people from neighboring areas moved into Jump City as it proved to be much safer than that of Gotham, Civic or New Carthage. It had grown phenomenally in thirty years as it utilized its closeness to the water and transitioned into a port city. With a market street economy, breweries, specialty "craft" coffee and cafes, parks and unconventional recreational areas, Jump City established itself as a fun and creative (but still generally relaxed) place to live.

In 1997, the school was officially opened.

 


	2. Homeroom

* * *

                                                                                                ** _Homeroom_**

  "Bye Mother, I'll see you after school. Thank you for driving me." Raven Roth said as she picked her backpack up from the seat. Waving good bye, she made her way to the door. Arella, her mother, either didn't hear her or was late to an appointment, so she didn't say anything. Shrugging it off, Raven slugged her backpack strap over her shoulder and proceeded to the door. 

        Moving inside the doors, the immense amount of students shocked her. They were all so tall and talking to each other, laughing or hugging each other so openly. It was all so frightening, the emotions running around freely confused and overwhelmed her. Quickly looking around the hall for an area of low-traffic, she slithered away and held her head beneath her bangs. 

        Since the bell wouldn't ring for another twenty minutes or so, she checked a folded up paper in her pocket with her locker and combination on it. When she got to her locker, she noticed that height wasn't taken into account when assigning them as hers was a top locker. Attempting to reach, her middle finger barely scraped the lock. Then Raven had an idea. 

        She looked left, then right, then behind her and the coast was clear. 

        " _Azarath Metrion Zinthos_ ," whispering, her arm slowly waved upwards and the locker rustled, quietly opening. Her hands re-positioned as her books floated through the air and into the locker. She closed the locker, checking again that no one saw her before cautiously walking to her homeroom class.

        Walking up the steps, she felt a flush of cold that stopped her breath for a moment. In an instant, it was bizarrely intense, constricting her at the throat and then completely back to normal as if nothing happened. Raven looked around for an air vent or an open door that could have contributed but saw nothing. It was strange, but she wrote it off as some emotion she was picking up from someone in a classroom on the other wall. 

        She found the room with only minor difficulty and ended up being a few minutes late but got off the hook after explaining herself. 

        "It is my first day here, ma'am. I apologize as I had trouble navigating the halls. I've never been here before." Raven stood in front of the class and the room thrummed with an unsettling feeling she couldn't quite explain. The teacher nodded to her and instructed her where to sit. As she did, she tapped her fingers pensively thinking about what to call this emotion that seemed to be trying to trap her mind. The bright, blinking lights overhead didn't help, she could hear every subtle buzz they emitted and her head pounded like a drum. Whispers, breathing, the psychic vibrations. 

        Raven closed her eyes and focused on her breathing to calm herself. The headache was still there, but in order to appear normal, she tried her best to subdue her sensitivity to the emotions by ignoring them and after a while, it became easier to focus through it. 

        " _This is going to be a long day_ ," she thought to herself. 

 


	3. I Just Know

 

* * *

                                                                                            _**I Just Know**_                                                                      

A few weeks had passed and Raven still wasn't entirely settled into her new school. It just felt so awkward being around all these people at once. There was also seemingly no place where there wasn't a person, even during class when she asked to go to the bathroom, there were always at least five people wandering the halls. Sometimes she wondered if they were thinking the same thing as her, she can't read minds after all, just emotions.

        Still though, school was generally good and she certainly appreciated going to it. It was a safe place away from home and it did her good to stretch her legs every once in a while. Raven found out very early that when you're new somewhere, you have to constantly introduce yourself to teachers and staff but most of the time, students don't talk to you. Not in high school anyways.

        There was a brief time in which she had hidden on Earth when Trigon invaded Azarath looking for her. About two weeks at most during elementary school. She didn't actually attend classes there, but she did go to the school's daycare and because of that, some kids just assumed she was a student. In daycare it's more acceptable to talk to other students because it gives you someone to play with or sit next to on the bus home. Other kids did talk to her and she made a few friends that she didn't get to keep contact with when she transcended into another dimension. Inter-dimensional phone calls are not only very expensive, but there's a good chance you won't even get through to the other line.

        That said, Raven didn't really mind people not talking to her in high school. She got a lot of her homework done, there was plenty of time to draw or read and it kept her focused. At lunch, Raven would sit at an empty table and drink some thermos-held tea while she just watched everyone. It was so surreal to be right there in the middle of everything happening and yet, completely displaced from it as well, like being in a dream or watching a movie.

        When Raven got home though, there were serious responsibilities. After getting off the bus, she walked a short block home and began to clean up the kitchen of their little house before setting the alarm for when to pick up her brother, Kid Devil or Eddie, as he was better known. During the weekdays he spent time with her mother's friend Spectre who taught him how to behave and speak in human languages. Once Eddie got home, he was Raven's responsibility. 

        "Wydda Raven, waq qoz uail kou?" Eddie only really spoke in the forbidden language, Rhefugi. After all, he was a demon. 

        "Es qoz odlerws," she replied, taking his hand and beginning to walk towards their house. She lead him along as he told her about his day and he didn't ask her anymore about hers because he knew she wouldn't say much. Eddie did his usual things so he recited his schedule.

        "E qyfs sa Uncle Spector, qy sodnyk oxais qyolefr zwelsz olaifk witofz. E fyyk sa qyol es. Witofz kaf's deny fehhdyz." Raven gave a faint smirk while she ushered him up to the steps. Childlike innocence like that can be so enchanting sometimes. 

        "Afpy qy rys efzeky, zhyon English," she told him, opening the door and taking his backpack over her shoulder. He ran in, very excited, and immediately tried to watch television before Raven. She gave him a stern look. 

        "Potty time?" he asked sheepishly turning off the TV.

        "Potty time." 

        Arella, awoken from her slumber in the other room, groggily attempted to speak. She rubbed her eyes and straightened up before looking over her daughter. 

     "How do you always know when he has to go?" 

     "I just know," Raven replied, walking over with Eddie to the bathroom before collecting her school supplies.

        A few days later, after the weekend had passed, Raven returned to school. Before her second class, she decided to get a snack out of the vending machine. In her hoodie pocket, she had about $1 in quarters. She thought about what she could get before her fingertips went cold. At first, she thought that someone was near her and that she was picking up on the energy. She looked left and then right, not seeing anyone. Raven collected her quarters back into her pocket and left, squinting at the vending machine before returning to the halls upstairs. Her skin still felt cold for a moment before she returned to the room. 

        When Raven got ready to go to lunch, she had a brief thought about what she would have gotten out of the vending machine. She felt a little off about going near it now but she hadn't brought anything bagged for lunch. A flash of chill went over her spine and she turned around to face the machine. It shook, almost unnoticably but it couldn't have been her mind playing tricks on her. Maybe that's just how those older machines started up? 

        Just then, she caught movement from inside the glass. 

        A packet of Snyder's pretzels fell and landed in the release door. 

        Just what she had wanted to get earlier. 

        " _How... How did that... How did it pick the one I was thinking about?_ " Raven asked herself whilst she got out the pretzels. 

        She could have sworn she heard a faint whispering, like a response in her head.

        It said, " _I just know_ ".


	4. "Daddy"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: there's some sensitive material in this one primarily because of implied parental abuse

 

 

* * *

 

                                                                                                              _ **"Daddy"**_

 "No!" Raven shouted, holding her head in her hands. It was a brief lapse in composure on an otherwise clean track record of control.

        "He's your father Raven and he's done some awful things before but he really wants to redeem himself and be close to you. You should really try to give him a chance."

        Those words were spoken like a white mother on  _Leave It To Beaver_. It just didn't seem real at all.

        "Why now? Why are you saying this?" Her cheeks flushed red in panic and disbelief. It went against everything she and everyone else had worked for: keeping her father's influence away and protecting her.

        There was no use discussing it however, Arella made it perfectly clear how the argument would go just with her body language. 

        "He'll be here in part from time to time. I don't want to hear any petty complaints either, you don't need to start fights with your dad to get his attention you know. He really does want to start having a relationship with you." 

        Raven furrowed her brow at that, feeling slightly constricted at her throat and sick in the pits of her stomach. The room thrummed with unease and within the swirling unnatural energy, her mother put a hand on her shoulder in comfort. 

        "Perhaps you want to talk with Azar?" Arella asked, scruffling Raven in a cutesy way. It was creepy, something was just wrong in the way that Raven was being touched or even with Arella herself, nonetheless, she passively accepted it with hovering awkwardness. 

 _"But what could I say?"_ Raven thought to herself. If she said yes, she could stay in Azarath and talk to Azar, clear everything up, but if she talked to Azar, she knew that she'd need treatment and training for displaying such emotional response. Either way, there wasn't control. 

_"I don't have control, I'm not in my right mind... If I let her know, if I go to Azar, then she'll think I can't handle myself."_

Raven held onto her arm, timidly scratching at her coat-sleeve. She had that little outburst earlier, that's more than enough reason to send her to Azar, she could need the help, she might be turning evil. The lack of control, the expression of these radical emotions, it was ground to be kept in Azarath for a long time but whether she was there or on Earth, Trigon would have brief contact with her. However, on Earth he couldn't physically touch her or hurt her. 

        "No, you're right. I'll be good." Raven said, defeated but trying to end the conversation and the point of it. 

        "Well I certainly appreciate you seeing the truth. So long as you aren't bratty or whiney, everything will be fine." Arella's smile betrayed the sting of the words she spoke. She hugged her daughter again and decided to make leave, but before Raven could get away to contemplate such a nasty remark, she spoke up again.

        "Oh and Raven? I love you." 

        Blankly staring, Raven tilted her head to the side, completely perplexed. 

        "I... Love you too? Uh, Mom." The words rang out but it was stilted and graceless. There wasn't a distinct point to saying it, so she figured it would be appropriate to return the favour even if the gesture by Arella seemed hollow to her. Perhaps a hollow and unsure reply would suit it.

        In fact, the whole interaction was rather ostentatious, appearing as though she was saying the wrong lines in a very pedantic script that relied on her own compliance. Occasionally, pedantics were structured and a good way to organize life but other times, they were just uneasy. 

        At least she knew that despite everything.


End file.
